Inertia
by DreadPirateSephy
Summary: An object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. The last thing Vincent Valentine wants is to be caught up in yet another struggle to save the world, but the world has other ideas.- First chapter revised-ON HAITUS


Disclaimer: Alright, so this is my oldest story, and one I haven't worked on in years, but I have decided to try and salvage it from the strange, far-too-close-to-Mary-Sue-ish mess it was quickly becoming. We'll see how it goes. Wish me luck, and I hope you like the new Momentum Saga! Thanks for reading, and please remember that all I own are the many OCs that will appear in this. Because my brain is ever a vast chasm of oddity.

**INERTIA**

**Chapter 1: Another Favor**

Vincent sighed and checked the text message again. He had the right place. Reeve was just late. As usual. What _was_ unusual was the location Reeve had asked to meet him. This had to be the most out of the way coffee shop on the Planet. It was about a mile from the furthest outskirts of Edge, surrounded by nothing but dusty wastelands. A slight distortion in the haze announced the arrival of one Reeve Tuesti, WRO Commissioner, former head of Shinra's Urban Development, and Vincent's long-time friend. "You're late," Vincent said by way of greeting.

Reeve chuckled. "Sorry. My meeting took longer than I thought," he apologized, smiling and taking a seat before ordering. He glanced around curiously, seeming disappointed to see no one else there. Before Vincent could ask about the other person they were waiting on, however, the rumble of an explosion and a huge cloud of dust drew his attention to the wastelands. He turned to stare in astonishment at Reeve when all the man did was sigh in exasperation. "Ah, that must be her…" he muttered, sipping his coffee. Vincent could only stare dumbfounded out at the cloud of dust. Within minutes, angry voices and vague shapes could be distinguished moving toward them, and Vincent glanced over at Reeve to take his cue. The man seemed more amused than concerned, though, so Vincent forced himself to relax as he waited to see what would emerge. The voices became clear before the figures did, and Vincent's shock doubled.

"What the hell?! Seriously!?" came an irritated male voice, thick from coughing and dust.

"Yes, ok? We're alive, so stop your bitching!" replied a much calmer and almost bored female.

"You completely destroyed my bike! How many vehicles does this make now?"

"I dunno. I lost count after twenty…"

"Gah! Remind me why I have such a destructive girlfriend again?"

"Because I am damn sexy, and you don't know anyone else who can pick a lock in 1.3 seconds flat." There was a groan in response, and finally the figures emerged from the dust as recognizable people. Both seemed to be in their mid-twenties, fit and most likely soldiers of a sort. The man was running his hand through his wild brown hair in aggravation, and his light tan jacket and dark pants were coated in dust and had worn patches, like he'd just been thrown around the ground. The young woman drew his attention immediately, however, as this must be the "her" Reeve was waiting for. She had her long black hair pulled back into a braid, and the sun showed off glints of red and gold in the strands, visible even through the fine coating of dust. Her golden eyes were rolled in exasperation, and her hands were tucked nonchalantly into the pockets of a leather jacket. Her loose black pants were tucked into black boots styled for combat, and despite the relaxed gait she walked with, his Turk training picked out the tension and fluid control of a well-trained fighter. Perplexed, he turned to Reeve, who stood as the two approached.

"You're late, Sana, and still detonating my property," he said much more calmly and warmly than the words or situation called for. Vincent decided that shock was just going to keep happening when Reeve turned a smile to the man and gave a salute, and resolved to simply go with it. "Dorian, good to see you out of uniform," he greeted pleasantly.

The man, Dorian, saluted sharply, then rolled his eyes as he pulled out a chair for the woman, Sana, who'd simply grinned at Reeve's accusations and shrugged. "Sorry, sir. We encountered some, er, difficulties," he explained.

"By difficulties, he means we got shot at," Sana elaborated, pulling Reeve into a hug—which he returned, to Vincent's—oh, wait, he was just going with it now, right…-and kissed his cheek before flopping back into the seat her boyfriend had prepared for her.

Dorian sighed as he pulled out his own seat. "Well, I was hoping we weren't going to terrify my boss before lunch," he muttered to her, and she scoffed.

"Honey, you realize he half raised me, right? The day there isn't something on fire or splattered with blood is the day he starts worrying I'm dead," she said, which was surprising enough that Vincent decided it might be more interesting to pay full attention. "And as for your bike, chill. Frey an' I'll build you another one."

"Build another one?" Vincent repeated. Not many had that ability these days.

"A better one!" Sana added, seemingly unaware that the question had been asked by someone else.

Vincent glanced at Reeve, who just smirked as he motioned the waiter for two more cups. "Don't forget you still have those orders for me," he reminded her.

"Well," she countered, staring him down with a calculating smile. "If you'd stop babysitting me and let me go get the materials, I'd have them ready by now." Reeve gave a quiet, but indignant huff, and she quirked an eyebrow up at him in challenge.

He glanced quickly over at Vincent before clearing his throat and setting his shoulders. "About that, actually…" Oh, no… Well, at least Vincent wouldn't be the only one shocked. Now the big question: if she was pissed, how good a friend was Reeve? Should he stay and put him out when he got set on fire, or just leave and hope she was satisfied with one victim? Golden eyes narrowed beneath fine black eyebrows that were quirked in challenging curiosity, and a shiver crept up Vincent's spine in warning. Instincts screamed warnings of danger, and even the demons inside were stilled in disquiet. Silent tension stretched across the table until it felt like it was choking him, but he was at a total loss for what to say.

"Sana, stop glaring at your uncle so he can actually say what he's trying to. You're scaring him," Dorian chastised cheerfully, stirring his coffee and taking a sip, ignoring the glare that was shifted his way. Reeve chuckled nervously, though it seemed Dorian's cheer had broken the silent battle of wills between them, and he cleared his throat before clasping his hands together in front of him on the table.

"Sana… I am aware of how much you're going to not like this, at all… but given everything that's happened recently, and the escalation of these attacks, I can't just leave things as they are." He paused, looking apologetic, but resolved, and it seemed that was the combination to the lock on her anger. Sana sighed heavily, propping her head in her hands. "I'm sorry, but I can no longer allow you to go on such dangerous missions without protection."

"…So who's the lucky bastard that gets the death sentence of being my bodyguard…?" she asked as she looked up slowly. Given the looks passing between the two of them, this was a conversation that had been argued before, and it seemed Reeve had finally gotten concerned enough to pull rank. At that moment, Reeve glanced over at him, and Vincent understood. This, too, was a conversation that had happened before, shortly after his return from defeating Omega, and he gave a small nod before straightening in his chair.

"That would be me," he replied, and the surprise on her face as Sana turned to look at him made him wonder if she'd only just now realized he was there. She looked him over for a long moment, silently sizing him up and weighing him against the battles she knew would await.

"And you're ok with this…?" she asked him softly, a pleading tone entering her voice that surprised him. It seemed incongruous with all he'd seen of her so far, but he guessed that it was out of concern for his own safety. It was… touching, even if it wasn't entirely warranted.

"I wouldn't be here if I weren't," he answered steadily.

"Well, then, I hope you have a will prepared. Any next of kin I should warn? Requests regarding funeral arrangements?"

"Sana, play nice…" Dorian whispered.

"This is nice! I can show you mean if you don't believe me…" she countered innocently.

"Sana!"

"What!"

Reeve sighed. This would be interesting, to be sure…


End file.
